The
challenge came in the cheese. Oh, and to a certain extent, the fish.

Fish and
cheese for the prestigious event are normally imported, but with European foods
disappearing off the shelves of Russian shops as the ban on EU foodstuffs
begins to bite, organisers needed to think on their feet.

Yuri
Polyakov, head of consumer services for Krasnodar Region, found the perfect
solution for replacing Greek feta in suluguni — the sharp, salty white
Georgian cheese that is a popular local dish.

And for
English Cheddar? A Russian made Gouda substituted.

Suluguni -
saltier than feta - can probably pass in a 'Greek' salad. But would any
Englishman who happened to be at the forum accept gouda instead of cheddar?
Only if his life depended on it!

'Glow
in the dark' bikes?

When does
a bike glow in the dark? When it's a Russian bike, of course.

Russian
state atomic energy organization Rosatom has teamed up with environmental
groups, university students, schools and cycling clubs in regions across the
country to check background radiation levels.

Saturday's
'Nuclear Bike Ride' took place in 13 cities, including Chelyabinsk, Saratov,
Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk in seven regions that are home to
nuclear power stations.

Cyclists,
equipped with dosimeters, headed out to take up to 200 measurements of
radiation. The data will be used to begin creating a detailed map that will be
used by 17 data across Russia, including Moscow, St Petersburg, Smolensk and
Voronezh.

The idea
is to help build an early warning system in case of a Fukushima or
Chernobyl-style power station leak….and while local cyclists still need lights
to see at night.

Olympic
Gymnast's Perfect Figures

Alina
Kabayeva, a 31 year old Olympic champion rhythmic gymnast has been appointed
chair of influential National Media Group after stepping down as an MP for
pro-Kremlin party United Russia.

Although
Ms Kabayeva only known media experience is limited to having fronted a TV chat
show, is seems she has sufficient connections to secure a top job at a major
company that was founded by Yuri Kolvachuk, a close friend of President
Vladimir Putin.

Alina Kabayeva. Source: RIA Novosti / Alexander Vilf

The media
group is one of the most influential in Russia, controlling Ren-TV, Channel 5
and holding a 25% stake in Channel One, the country's biggest public
broadcaster. The group also owns newspaper Izvestia and Russian News Service
radio and reported revenues of $383 million last year.

One
well-known Russian man who has long been rumoured to be impressed by Ms
Kabayeva is Mr Putin himself. Although officially denied, media reports over the
past few years have often suggested the two are romantically linked.

Perhaps
the former rhythmic gymnast is now expected to turn in as perfect figures for
the media group as she once did for the Olympics?

Metal
Fragments Rocket in Price

While we
are talking about figures, it's worth noting that association with one of
Russia's enduring heroes — first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, sent prices
skyrocketing last week at a Berlin auction house.

The tiny 2
inch square (5 cm square) piece of the Vostok-1 rocket that took Gagarin into
outer space — and back safely for earthfall near Engels in the Volga river
region of Saratov in April 1961 — was signed by the cosmonaut himself.

Sold as
part of the collection of German artist Andreas Hoge, himself a trained cosmonaut,
it fetched 7,500 Euros ($9,700) around two and half times its estimate of 3,000
Euros.

One of 104
lots sold at the Soviet Space Memorabilia Auction, the auction attracted online
bidders worldwide.

Hoge —
stage name Andora — did well out of his association with Russia's space
program. The artist, who painted a Proton rocket in Baikonur in 1992 and is
friends with cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov, after whom a minor planet 3170
Dzhanibekov was named in 1979, sold a number of sketches for around 2,000 Euros
each.

Hoge kept some things with a more personal connection to Gagarin
back, including the famous spaceman's cosmonaut diploma.